Looks like the last link didn't work, let's see if this one does. For a Millennial, I am very technologically challenged. Attachment 229771
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Looks like the last link didn't work, let's see if this one does. For a Millennial, I am very technologically challenged. Attachment 229771
I have said this before, and had a discussion with a new member about it today...the posts that Razorfeld and aDavidson made are exemplary of what SRP is about. Keep it up all, this is a wonderful place to learn, to share and to have some sense of community and what fellowship means.
It was not only a Privilege But an Honor to work on Andrew's Great Grandfather's Razors.
I must tell all of you that Andrew's ancestor had very good tastes and I think a good eye. So many of the older razors have so many problems including warps and other 'imperfections' from manufacturing and non of those were present with his heirloom razors! This leads me to believe that when they were purchased they were looked over very well before purchase.
Also as the time came that the razors had reached the point of diminishing return that they were cared for very well. There was NO RUST! Only years worth of gentle patina.
With the love and care that I'm certain that Andrew will provide these heirlooms, they will be shaving his great grandchildren some day.
Andrew, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for you to trust in me to bring such wonderful heirlooms back to life to do what they were meant to do and that is to give wonderful shaves! :bow:
Big 'Atta Boy', Gents! :tu
Kudos also to adavidson for being an enthusiastic and teachable student for two fine teachers.
Having respect for the knowledge and experience of others is quite commendable these days, it would seem.
I work with youngsters all the time who feel they are smarter than anyone with that phone in their pocket.
They learn the hard way at a much slower rate, I think! JMO
Good work! :chapeau
Speaking of teaching young guys Sharptonn, I had my first time to teach a young guy to straight shave today. What a great experience for both of us. My cousin was visiting today and complaining about his beard and shaves. The guy is 37 years old, has shaved with a cartridge since he was pubed, and has a beard like no other I have seen. He's one of those poor guys that really should shave twice a day and he was mad at his ingrown whiskers. I told him that I have no problem because I shave with a straight and showed him a couple of razors in my rotation. He was very interested so I asked him if he wanted a go at it. He wanted to try my L.&A. Razor Co. shavette so we went to the shave den and he got lathered up. With my coaching he went for a full WTG pass with the shavette and did remarkably well. I told him he wasn't done yet and asked if he would like to try my Boker 6/8 Silver Steel. The guy was so happy with his first pass with the shavette he went with a full Boker ATG pass to finish up. When he was done he splashed on a good dose of Bay Rum and had a ear to ear grin. I think I made a convert today and SRD will have another customer.
Let's here more from any pf the members that have had the chance to introduce someone to this crazy hobby of ours>
Man! That is a cool bunch of revelations from you guys. The ingrown hair thing is why I went from clippers to straights, myself.
Excellent!
Attachment 229867
Every other shave of the day today was with my 1820ish near wedge. I'm discovering that I'm doing some subconscious adjustments when I'm not using the 8/8. Didn't realize it until I was done and was spraying on some witch hazel. Yikes! I had used more inward pressure than normal without even thinking about it. Sting city!! Moral of the topic: Assuming you know what you are doing is false unless you stop and deliberate on your plan of attack for that (and only that) shave. Another day, another plan. Awarded myself a second mint for lunch dessert for realizing that fact.
Well, after all this enthusiasm and success, I've hit a bump. Changing nothing (that I'm aware of), I've had 2, maybe 3 subpar shaves with one of my favorites, the W&B FBU, pictured last week and in SOTD.
I've started to have pulling and lack of "efficiency"cutting whiskers on pass 1 WTG, I think I may have pressed too hard for success, outthought myself, and unconsciously kept changing angles, none of it particularly comfortable.
Advice is welcome, but in the meantime, I'm going to strop that big blade a lot tomorrow, shave with the Mongoose to give my face a rest, and then strop it up and have another go Wednesday. I know it's me. I just can't figure out exactly what I'm doing wrong/different.
After a week on the road (again), I got home Friday and sent some time stooping the FBU. 20 SRD premium fabric, 30 on SRD English Bridle on the paddle strop, 30 on SRD Premium 1 leather and 30 on my favorite Roo strop. Bowl lathered with the Castle Forbes and went to work. I'm happy to report that my problem was ME :banged:and with attention to lather and angle, I got an easy 2 + pass shave that was good for two days. No pull, no irritation, no problems.
Guess that proves the devil is in the details!
Those old heavy Sheffields like lots of strop to be optimal after honing, FME, Harold.
I have found that lots of strop for the first 10 shaves or so gets it there and then, you can ease off some and see.
Seems there are some with which you cannot ease off on but for a few shaves, if you get my drift.
Tom, are you saying more laps or loosening tension on the strop to let it flex more?
I have been getting that feeling from most of my razors. I've upped my routine to 25 fabric/50 leather on my SRD strop. Plus, with a some hand rubbing to warm up the leather, the draw feels magnetic. I absolutely love stropping my W&B on it. Taught me a lot about stropping just using that razor.
I'm back, this being post-Easter. My wife and I agreed, painfully, to give up the internet for Lent except for business and banking....:drop jaw:
It was painful, as I had become addicted to SRP and a number of non-shaving forums to do with my other hobbies -- and also Amazon :shrug:
Anyway, I have been shaving, mostly with SRs and mostly with vintage ones that I have in my collection. I have learned a lot new about shaving, one of which is that most of the soaps I have in my "shave den" (small bathroom) work almost equally well IF enough time is spent with them to strike the soap/water balance. Strangely, while i still have my favorites (most of which are the Sheffield heavier grinds) most of my razors will give me a better shave in 2 passes than a cartridge ever did.
I've also re-learned that stropping is my friend, and, especially on the heavy grinds, more is better in terms of passes on the cloth and leather.
Glad to be back, I have missed you guys, and the learning curve is faster with help from friends' experiences.
Oh, Thank God! I thought you were kidnapped by Gillette. Glad you're back.
Nah!
Actually, through some work I've been doing I've learned a lot about Procter & Gamble which bought Gillette (along with lots of other companies). Similar to General Mills buying Pillsbury. I have a theory that big conglomerates, instead of driving prices down and quality up through economies of scale, are doing the opposite...squeezing out small specialized manufacturers, and spreading their corporate overhead across product lines, driving prices up while quality becomes secondary.
Welcome back, Harold!
I don't suppose you have missed much. Good to take a few steps back on occasion!:D
I have been shaving with a variety of thin Germans for a while, 6/8 with 13/16 total width.
Man, I could get spoiled here. Think I will go 3 days without shaving and use the Greaves wedge.
Should bring me back off the cloud! ;)
So, what did I learn today with my Henckel's #50 shorty?!? Overall, I guess I re-learned that it is a different razor on the face and in the hand than its heavier rotation-mates.
It is very sharp and very maneuverable, which makes it a bit hard to get used to, because the toe is about an inch short of where most other razors end and I needed to be careful to overcome my inclination to dig the point into my face by lifting the heel, assuming that I was changing angle on the middle of the blade :nono: I didn't do it to the extent required to nick or cut my leathery skin, but I did do it enough (twice) to say, "Pay attention, dumbo." I especially had a hard time with my neck, which has more "give" than it did when I was younger :shrug:
Last lesson is that I was slow with it and needed to keep my lather refreshed as i moved along, to keep the old face slick.
The great news is that even though I started with a full 2 days growth, in 3 passes I was clean as a whistle, and unmarked, except to those marks God has given me over the years.
This was a special shave because it was April Fools Day when I first replied some years back on a post of Sharptonn's that he had dropped or otherwise destroyed a very special beautiful razor, which turned out to be an "April Fools" post. He rewarded me and a few others of the fastest and most sympathetic fools with gifts, and mine was this cute Henckel. I learned that day the "pay it forward" aspect of the man and the forum here.
A tip of the hat, Tom! Great fun!!:chapeau:chapeau
PS -- This shave is shown in the SOTD today.
Well, it's a Henckels kind of week! I shaved today for the first time in a few weeks with this Henckels 66 in beautiful MOP scales
Attachment 233335
As usual, it gave me an amazing shave in 2 passes. It has perfect balance, a keen edge, and a beautiful smile. It makes shaving a treat, so I chose MDC to help it do its best, used my Simpson brush to face lather, loaded it for 30 seconds and it held enough in reserve for two wonderful passes.
What did I learn today? That shaving can be just a wonderful experience with a SR!
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So that razor was a sort of 'enigma' as I experienced it, Harold. Nothing quite like it, IMO.
If I may, A blade which was purposely 'smiled' from it's original configuration, yet ground so nicely that the resultant bevel is even, small, and sweet. The scales being somewhat heavy, are transformed by the tightness of the pivot as much as the weight of the blade.
Honed many years ago, it responds to the strop and now has a soft, 'leather' edge which shaves most comfortably and effectively without a clue that it may bite at all.
My conclusion, FME, would be that applying this razor is akin to cheating, but that is just me! :D
Enjoy!
It is the easiest blade I have to shave with, and for a heavy grind (re-grind?), and it seems to need less strop than most. Some of the really big ones I strop a lot. I wondered as I was shaving yesterday what I would do if it ever started to pull, because I personally could never bring myself to put it to a hone, but I've been using it in my rotation for 7-8 months, and it feels the same, so I'm not even going to think about it.
The scales are heavy, which probably contributes to my thumb slipping toward the heel occasionally :roll eyes:, but they scales are just so stunning that I forgive them. On the other hand (no pun intended), as discussed before, I'm a slow learner.
Have gone back to my originals for the last two weeks, two R. Aust's (5/8 & 6/8), a modern era Böker Silver Steel 6/8 and my original 35 year old first a Hoffritz 5/8. It was an "experience" to go back to some of the more hollow grinds and smaller ones, and the good news is I am getting better and was able to get good shaves with all.
The less good news is it just was not as pleasant as with what are becoming my "go-to" razors, which are mostly heavier grinds, from 5/8 up to FBU. I gave each 3 days so that I had a chance to re-acquaint myself with each, but still had to work a little harder to get what I wanted from the shaves. I had more post-shave burn which may have been pressure, and I did decide the "size doesn't matter" as there seemed to be no difference between the 5/8s and 6/8s. I also wound up spending more time on prep and lather after my first outing. I think it paid off.
Still, good shaves, and what I may next do is take one (probably the Hoffritz) and use it for two weeks to get my technique with it back into a groove. However, as many experience, I expect somewhere along the line I'll look at another and say, "well today, I'll cheat..."
Still at it after almost 3 years, still no cuts, except 2 on my thumb out of lack of attention. I can live with 1 cut every 400 days, as long as none scar my beautiful, flawless face :w
Well, I've been away a while but am still shaving...just no time to post, but tonight I thought of you guys and thought I needed to share my use for tape. It matters not, what brand or mil, but it worked. Kitchen knife slipped, got myself good, and the darn bandaid (once I got into the packaging wouldn't stick well, and I needed PRESURE, so..my solution:
Attachment 235785
I'll be back to post some shaving stuff tomorrow, but had to share!
If it works ,why not. better put the kitchen knife down and hone away on some razors.